Method of treating surfaces of bowling alley beds, bowling pins, and the like



July 13, 1937. -H. K. HESS A REATING SURFACES OF 1 ALLEY BEDS, BO

Filed INVENTDR HENRY K. H555 BOWLING HE LIKE TT D'RNEY WLING PINS, AND T Patented July 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF TREATING SURFACES OF BOWLING ALLEY BEDS, BOWLING PINS,

AND THE LIKE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of treating surfaces and pertains more particularly to the treatment of the surfaces of bowling alley beds and bowling pins or the like.

It is a well known fact that bowling alley beds and bowling pins readily become soiled and spotted with foreign materials during the game of bowling. It is also a well known fact that when the surfaces of bowling alley beds and bowling pins are finished in the usual manner by the application thereto of shellac, varnish, paint or other insoluble coating, it is very "diflicult and laborious to cleanse such surfaces after having once become stained or soiled by use.

The main object of this invention is to provide the surface of bowling alley beds and bowling pins or similar articles with a soluble coating wherebythese surfaces may be quickly and easily cleansed by washing or wiping the same with a cleansing liquid which readily dissolves a slight portion of the soluble coating and thus effects the removal of the stains, soil and dirt collecting on the surfaces with the coating.

Another object of the invention is to provide a quick drying solublecoating material for bowling alley beds, bowling balls or the like whereby the surfaces of these articles may be re-coated at any convenient time and thus maintain a suitable body surface without appreciable loss in the use of such articles.

A further object of the invention resides in providing articles with a soluble coating which produces a hard, glossy finish whereby the tendency of the liability of the surfaces thereof becoming soiled is reduced to a minimum.

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the coating material used and to the manner of applying the same will be more fully brought out in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a bowling pin treated in accordance with this invention. I

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view representing a bowling alley partly in section with my novel coating applied thereto.

In Figure l, I have illustrated a bowling pin l of conventional design, formed preferably of wood or other suitable material, and which has a coating 2 of soluble material applied directly to the natural surface of the pin. Likewise, in Figure 2, the bowling alley 3 has the bed 4 and gutters 5 thereof provided with a coating 6 of my soluble coating material.

The alley bed 4 may be constructed in any suitable or well known manner as by securing together tongued and grooved timber blanking and which have the upper surfaces thereof carefully planed and polished to render the bed smooth 'and even. In other words, the bowling pins and 5 bowling alley bed are constructed in the conventional manner to provide a smooth polished surface ready to receive the shellac, varnish or oil paint now commonly used for such purposes. However, instead of applying any of these con- 10 ventional coatings, I apply one or more coats of a soluble material or solution directly to the prepared surface. For this soluble coating, I preferably use liquid glass or sodium silicate, although any other suitable material which is readily soluble in water and dries in .a comparatively short period of time and which, when dry, provides a hard, smooth glossy surface that is not readily marred or mutilated, may be used.

In certain instances, it may be desirable to use a covering body in conjunction with the soluble material as when the surface to be covered has become marred or injured and is unsightly. This I accomplish by mixing a quantity of oxide of zinc or white lead with the sodium 5 silicate or with the liquid glass, depending upon which substance is used, to the consistency of paint or putty. This solution may, if desired, be tinted with a dry coloring also soluble in water, such as raw sienna, chrome yellow or the like.

The soluble coating, whether or not it contains the tinted covering body material is preferably applied directly to the surface of the pin or bed and if the surface has been previously treated with a coating of shellac, varnish or the like in the conventional manner, this coating is entirely removed by sand papering or any other suitable means before the soluble coating is applied.

Furthermore, if the article being treated is a 40 bowling pin which has been mutilated by use so that the surface thereof is fractured or rendered uneven by indentations or recesses such as produced by the pin forcibly contacting with other objects, I preferably treat the pin by first steaming it or boiling or soaking the same in water to expand and thereby restore the surface of the pin to its original even, smooth contour. The pin is then thoroughly dried to remove the moisture absorbed during the expanding operation by the use of a dry kiln or other suitable means after which a coating of the soluble material is applied. to the surface of the pin by submerging the pin in a bath of the solution or by painting the solution on the surface or in any other suitable manner whereby the solution may penetrate to a certain degree the body of the pin so that when dried it will produce a hard, smooth surface. After the first coat of soluble material has been applied to the surface and permitted to dry, one or more succeeding'coats of the soluble material may be applied to the articles so as to provide a hard, glassy coating of considerable depth which will enable the cleansing operations to be repeatedly performed upon the surface of the article before necessitating the application of an addi tional coating of the soluble material to the articles.

As the surface of the article treated with the soluble coating becomes soiled, it is quickly and easily cleansed by wiping the same with a cloth or sponge or the like saturated or partly saturated with a liquid cleanser such as water, glycerine, gasoline, and so forth, which will soften and remove a slight portion of the coating which will carry with it all the soiled spots and foreign materials collected on the surface of the article and thereby leave the article thoroughly cleaned.

In order to maintain the surface of the article coated with the soluble material, a new application of the material may be appliedafter each cleaning operation or at predetermined intervals as desired, and inasmuch as the coating material used readily becomes dry and hard, it will be obvious that the surface may be maintained in clean, fresh condition with a minimum effort and loss of time in the use of the articles.

Inasmuch as the soluble coating material used is deliquescent, I preferably, when the articles treated are not to be used for an indefinite period of time, apply a coat of paraffin, oil or other suitable material to the soluble coating which will seal the latter coating and exclude the penetration of atmospheric moisture in the soluble coating and the decomposition thereof.

Although the method of treating surfaces to render the same easily cleaned, disclosed herein, is particularly simple, practical and eflicient, it is evident thatvarious changes in the details may be resorted to without departing from the principle of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of treating the surfaces of bowling pins, bowling alley beds, and the like, which comprises applying to the surface of such objects a coating of sodium silicate, whereby to provide a durable surface resistant to the collection of dirt and other foreign substances, and periodically washing the coated surface with an aqueous solvent so as to remove a thin film of the sodium silicate coating and thereby remove any dirt or soil which may have collected on the coated surface after application of the coating.

2. A bowling pin or the like having applied thereto a coating of sodium silicate affording a smooth, hard, durable, soil resistant surface.

HENRY K. HESS. 

